document_title: Comparison of top chess players throughout history

question_text: who has the highest elo rating in chess

question_tokens: who has the highest elo rating in chess

text: Statistical methods[edit]

text: Elo system[edit]

text: Perhaps the best-known statistical model is that devised by Arpad Elo in 1960 and further elaborated on in his 1978 book The Rating of Chessplayers, Past and Present,[1] he gave ratings to players corresponding to their performance over the best five-year span of their career. According to this system the highest ratings achieved were:

text:
2725: José Raúl Capablanca
2720: Mikhail Botvinnik, Emanuel Lasker
2700: Mikhail Tal
2690: Alexander Alekhine, Paul Morphy, Vasily Smyslov.

text: (Though published in 1978, Elo's list did not include five-year averages for Bobby Fischer and Anatoly Karpov. It did list January 1978 ratings of 2780 for Fischer and 2725 for Karpov.[2])

text: In 1970, FIDE adopted Elo's system for rating current players, so one way to compare players of different eras is to compare their Elo ratings. The best-ever Elo ratings are tabulated below.[3]

text: As of December 2015, there were 101 chess players in history who broke 2700 and nine of them exceeded 2800.[4][5][6][7][8] Particularly notable are the peak ratings of Fischer, Karpov and Kasparov, who achieved their peak ratings in earlier years (1972, 1994, and 1999 respectively).

text:
Table of top 20 rated players of all-time, with date their best ratings were first achieved

Rank
Rating
Player
Year-month

011
2882
Magnus Carlsen
2014-05May 2014

022
2851
Garry Kasparov
1999-07 July 1999

033
2844
Fabiano Caruana
2014-10Oct. 2014

044
2830
Levon Aronian
2014-03Mar. 2014

055
2822
Wesley So
2016-10Feb. 2017

066
2819
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
2016-03 Aug. 2016

077 (tie)
2817
Viswanathan Anand
2011-03Mar. 2011

077 (tie)
2817
Vladimir Kramnik
2013-05Oct. 2016

099 (tie)
2816
Veselin Topalov
2015–07July 2015

099 (tie)
2816
Hikaru Nakamura
2015-10Oct. 2015

1111
2810
Alexander Grischuk
2014-12Dec. 2014

1212
2800
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
2017-06June 2017

1313
2798
Anish Giri
2015-10Oct. 2015

1414
2793
Teimour Radjabov
2012-12Nov. 2012

1515 (tie)
2788
Alexander Morozevich
2008-07July 2008

1515 (tie)
2788
Sergey Karjakin
2011-07July 2011

1717
2787
Vassily Ivanchuk
2007–10Oct. 2007

1818
2785
Bobby Fischer
1972-04Apr. 1972

1919
2783
Ding Liren
2016-06June 2016

2020
2780
Anatoly Karpov
1994-07July 1994

text: Average rating over time[edit]

text: The average Elo rating of top players has risen over time. For instance, the average of the top 10 active players rose from 2751 in July 2000 to 2794 in July 2014, a 43-point increase in 14 years. The average rating of the top 100 players, meanwhile, increased from 2644 to 2703, a 59-point increase.[9] Many people believe that this rise is mostly due to a system artifact known as ratings inflation, making it impractical to compare players of different eras.[10]

text: Arpad Elo was of the opinion that it was futile to attempt to use ratings to compare players from different eras; in his view, they could only possibly measure the strength of a player as compared to his or her contemporaries. He also stated that the process of rating players was in any case rather approximate; he compared it to "the measurement of the position of a cork bobbing up and down on the surface of agitated water with a yard stick tied to a rope and which is swaying in the wind".[11]]

text: Chessmetrics[edit]

text: Many statisticians besides Elo have devised similar methods to retrospectively rate players. Jeff Sonas' rating system is called "Chessmetrics". This system takes account of many games played after the publication of Elo's book, and claims to take account of the rating inflation that the Elo system has allegedly suffered.

text: One caveat is that a Chessmetrics rating takes into account the frequency of play. According to Sonas, "As soon as you go a month without playing, your Chessmetrics rating will start to drop."[12]

text: Sonas, like Elo, claims that it is impossible to compare the strength of players from different eras, saying:

text: Of course, a rating always indicates the level of dominance of a particular player against contemporary peers; it says nothing about whether the player is stronger/weaker in their actual technical chess skill than a player far removed from them in time. So while we cannot say that Bobby Fischer in the early 1970s or José Capablanca in the early 1920s were the "strongest" players of all time, we can say with a certain amount of confidence that they were the two most dominant players of all time. That is the extent of what these ratings can tell us.[13]

text: Nevertheless, Sonas' website does compare players from different eras. Including data until December 2004, the ratings were:

text:
Rank
1-year peak[14]
5-year peak[15]
10-year peak[16]
15-year peak[17]
20-year peak[18]

1
Bobby Fischer, 2881
Garry Kasparov, 2875
Garry Kasparov, 2863
Garry Kasparov, 2862
Garry Kasparov, 2856

2
Garry Kasparov, 2879
Emanuel Lasker, 2854
Emanuel Lasker, 2847
Anatoly Karpov, 2820
Anatoly Karpov, 2818

3
Mikhail Botvinnik, 2871
José Capablanca, 2843
Anatoly Karpov, 2821
Emanuel Lasker, 2816
Emanuel Lasker, 2809

4
José Capablanca, 2866
Mikhail Botvinnik, 2843
José Capablanca, 2813
José Capablanca, 2798
Alexander Alekhine, 2781

5
Emanuel Lasker, 2863
Bobby Fischer, 2841
Bobby Fischer, 2810
Alexander Alekhine, 2794
Viktor Korchnoi, 2766

6
Alexander Alekhine, 2851
Anatoly Karpov, 2829
Mikhail Botvinnik, 2810
Mikhail Botvinnik, 2789
Vasily Smyslov, 2759

text: In 2005,[19] Sonas used Chessmetrics to evaluate historical annual performance ratings and came to the conclusion that Kasparov was dominant for the most years, followed by Karpov and Lasker. He also published the following list of the highest ratings ever attained according to calculations done at the start of each month:[20]

text:
Rank
Rating
Player

1
2895
Bobby Fischer

2
2886
Garry Kasparov

3
2885
Mikhail Botvinnik

4
2878
Emanuel Lasker

5
2877
José Capablanca

6
2860
Alexander Alekhine

7
2848
Anatoly Karpov

8
2833
Viswanathan Anand

9
2826
Vladimir Kramnik

10
2826
Wilhelm Steinitz

text: Warriors of the Mind[edit]

text: In contrast to Elo and Sonas's systems, Raymond Keene and Nathan Divinsky's book Warriors of the Mind[21] attempts to establish a rating system claiming to compare directly the strength of players active in different eras, and so determine the strongest player of all time. Considering games played between sixty-four of the strongest players in history, they came up with the following top ten:[22]

text:
Garry Kasparov, 3096
Anatoly Karpov, 2876
Bobby Fischer, 2690
Mikhail Botvinnik, 2616
José Raúl Capablanca, 2552
Emanuel Lasker, 2550
Viktor Korchnoi, 2535
Boris Spassky, 2480
Vasily Smyslov, 2413
Tigran Petrosian, 2363

tag: ol

text: These "Divinsky numbers" are not on the same scale as Elo ratings (the last person on the list, Johannes Zukertort, has a Divinsky number of 873, which would be a beginner-level Elo rating). Keene and Divinsky's system has met with limited acceptance,[23] and Warriors of the Mind has been accused of arbitrarily selecting players and bias towards modern players.[24]

text: Moves played compared with computer choices[edit]

text: A computer-based method of analyzing chess abilities across history came from Matej Guid and Ivan Bratko from the Department of Computer and Information Science of University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 2006.[25] The basis for their evaluation was the difference between the position values resulting from the moves played by the human chess player and the moves chosen as best by the chess program Crafty. They compared the average number of errors in the player's game. Opening moves were excluded, in an attempt to negate the progress in chess opening theory.

text: The method received a number of criticisms, including: the study used a modified version of Crafty rather than the standard version; even the standard version of Crafty was not strong enough to evaluate the world champions' play; one of the modifications restricted the search depth to 12 half-moves, which is often insufficient.[26] As of 2006 Crafty's Elo rating was 2657, below many historical top human players and several other computer programs.

text: A similar project was conducted for World Champions in 2007-8 using Rybka 2.3.2a (then-strongest chess program) and a modified version of Crafty 20.14.[27] It arrived at the following results:[28][29]

text:
Position
best year
best 2-year period
best 3-year period
best 5-year period
best 10-year period
best 15-year period

1
Fischer (1968, aged 25)
Fischer
Fischer
Fischer; Kasparov
Fischer; Capablanca
Capablanca

2
Kramnik (2007, aged 32)
Kramnik; Capablanca;
Kasparov
Capablanca; Kasparov
Karpov; Kramnik

3
Kasparov (1998, aged 35)
Capablanca
Kramnik

4
Botvinnik (1939, aged 28)
Smyslov
Kramnik; Botvinnik
Kasparov
Smyslov; Kasparov

5
Capablanca (1915, aged 27)
Karpov; Smyslov
Botvinnik
Karpov; Smyslov

6
Karpov (1983, aged 32)
Kramnik
Smyslov
Fischer

7
Smyslov (1983, aged 62) ;
Tal (1987, aged 51)
Botvinnik; Alekhine
Karpov
Karpov; Lasker
Botvinnik; Spassky
Botvinnik; Spassky;
Petrosian

8
Spassky; Lasker

9
Petrosian (1962, aged 33)
Anand
Alekhine; Anand
Anand

10
Euwe (1938, aged 37)
Tal; Spassky
Anand
Lasker; Petrosian
Anand

11
Spassky (1980, aged 43)
Petrosian
Petrosian; Spassky
Tal

12
Alekhine (1927, aged 35) ;
Anand (2006, aged 37)
Lasker; Euwe
Tal; Alekhine
Tal; Alekhine
Alekhine; Lasker

13
Euwe; Tal

14
Lasker (1909, aged 41)
Petrosian
Euwe
Euwe
Euwe

15
Morphy (1858, aged 21)
Morphy
Morphy
Steinitz
Steinitz
Steinitz

16
Steinitz (1886, aged 50)
Steinitz
Steinitz
—
—
—

text: A 2008 analysis, using Rybka 3, showed that Capablanca had the smallest average error factor (i.e. the most accurate play); but after adjusting for factors such as the complexity of positions, the best player came out as Fischer, followed by Capablanca, Karpov and Kramnik. The best players had an average error of about 0.07 pawns per move (after the opening). Capablanca was the most positional player, and Anand by far the most tactical. The most complex game tested was Fischer v Spassky (1972 game 6, Fischer won) while the most accurately played game was Tal v Benko (1958, Tal won).[30]

text: A study by online chess data provider Chess-DB, based on an analysis of over 50,000 chess games, claims that the "strength" of a player, as determined by the method of Matej Guid and Ivan Bratko, correlates with the Elo rating strength of modern players.[31]

text: CAPS[edit]

text: CAPS (Computer Aggregated Precision Score) is a system created by Daniel Rensch of chess.com that compares players from different eras by finding the percentage of moves that matches that of a chess engine. A score is then assigned based on percentage of matches and move value (for example, if the move was not the best, but still good, points are awarded). CAPS ignores both style and psychology.[32] According to the system, Carlsen was the best player ever, with a CAPS score of 98.36 and a top engine match of 85.26%. He was followed closely by Kramnik, and then Kasparov.[33]

text: Markovian Model[edit]

text: In an article [34] published by the ICGA Journal, Jean-Marc Alliot of the Toulouse Computer Science Research Institute (IRIT) presents a new method, based on a Markovian interpretation of a chess game. Starting with those of Wilhelm Steinitz, all 26,000 games played since then by chess world champions have been processed by a supercomputer using Stockfish (rated between 3310 ELO at the CCRL and 3337 at the SSDF as of 10/2015, but around 3150 under the test condition according to the authors)[35] in 62000 CPU hours, in order to create a probabilistic model for each player. For each position, the model estimates the probability of making a mistake, and the magnitude of the mistake by comparing the two best moves calculated at an average of 2 minutes by move (26 plies on the average) with the move actually played, [36] starting from move number 10.[37] These models can then be used to compute the win/draw/lose probability for any given match between two players. The predictions have proven not only to be extremely close to the actual results when players have played concrete games against one another, they also fare better than those based on ELO scores. The results demonstrate that the level of chess players has been steadily increasing. Magnus Carlsen (in 2013), tops the list, while Bobby Fischer (in 1971) is third, and Garry Kasparov (in 2001) is fourth. The complete database of the chess games and their evaluations can be downloaded from the page presenting this work on the author's website.

text: Subjective lists[edit]

text: Many prominent players and chess writers have offered their own rankings of the greatest players.

text: Bobby Fischer (1964 and 1970)[edit]

text: In 1964 Bobby Fischer listed his top 10 in Chessworld magazine: Morphy, Staunton, Steinitz, Tarrasch, Chigorin, Alekhine, Capablanca, Spassky, Tal, Reshevsky.[38][39] He considered Morphy the best, writing: "In a set match he would beat anyone alive today."[40]

text: In 1970 Fischer named Morphy, Steinitz, Capablanca, Botvinnik, Petrosian, Tal, Spassky, Reshevsky, Svetozar Gligorić and Bent Larsen the greatest chess players in history.[41]

text: Irving Chernev (1974)[edit]

text: In 1974, popular chess author Irving Chernev published an article titled Who were the greatest? in the English magazine CHESS.[42] He followed this up with his 1976 book The Golden Dozen, in which he ranked his all-time top twelve: 1. Capablanca, 2. Alekhine, 3. Lasker, 4. Fischer, 5. Botvinnik, 6. Petrosian, 7. Tal, 8. Smyslov, 9. Spassky, 10. Bronstein, 11. Rubinstein, and 12. Nimzowitsch.[43]

text: Miguel Quinteros (1992)[edit]

text: In a 1992 interview GM Miguel Quinteros gave the opinion:[44] "I think Fischer was and still is the greatest chess player of all time. [...] During his absence other good chess players have appeared. But no one equals Fischer's talent and perfection."

text: Viswanathan Anand (2000, 2008 and 2012)[edit]

text: In 2000, when Karpov, Korchnoi and Kasparov were still active, Anand listed his top 10 as: Fischer, Morphy, Lasker, Capablanca, Steinitz, Tal, Korchnoi, Keres, Karpov and Kasparov.[45]

text: When interviewed in 2008 shortly after Fischer's death, he ranked Fischer and Kasparov as the greatest, with Kasparov a little ahead by virtue of being on top for so many years.[46]

text: In 2012, Anand stated that he considered Fischer the greatest, because of the hurdles he faced.[47]

text: Chess Informant readers (2001)[edit]

text: Svetozar Gligorić reported in his book Shall We Play Fischerandom Chess?  (Batsford, 2002):

text: At the beginning of 2001 a large poll for the "Ten Greatest Chess Players of the 20th Century, selected by Chess Informant readers" resulted in Fischer having the highest percentage of votes and finishing as No. 1, ahead of Kasparov, Alekhine, Capablanca, Botvinnik, Karpov, Tal, Lasker, Anand and Korchnoi.[48]

text: David Edmonds and John Eidinow (2004)[edit]

text: BBC award-winning journalists, from their book Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time  (HarperCollins, 2004):

text: Fischer, some will maintain, was the outstanding player in chess history, though there are powerful advocates too for Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, and Kasparov. Many chess players will dismiss such comparisons as meaningless, akin to the futile attempt to grade the supreme musicians of all time. But the manner in which Fischer stormed his way to Reykjavik, his breathtaking dominance at the Palma de Majorca Interzonal, the trouncings of Taimanov, Larsen, and Petrosian—all this was unprecedented. There never has been an era in modern chess during which one player has so overshadowed all others.[49]

text: Vladimir Kramnik (2005 and 2011)[edit]

text: In a 2005 interview, Vladimir Kramnik (World Champion from 2000 to 2007) did not name a greatest player, but stated, "The other world champions had something 'missing'. I can't say the same about Kasparov: he can do everything."[50]

text: In an interview in 2011, Vladimir Kramnik said about Anand: "I always considered him to be a colossal talent, one of the greatest in the whole history of chess", "I think that in terms of play Anand is in no way weaker than Kasparov", and "In the last 5–6 years he's made a qualitative leap that's made it possible to consider him one of the great chess players".[51]

text: Leonard Barden (2008)[edit]

text: In his 2008 obituary of Bobby Fischer, Leonard Barden wrote that most experts ranked Kasparov as the greatest ever, with either Fischer or Karpov second.[52]

text: Levon Aronian (2012 and 2015)[edit]

text: In a 2012 interview, Levon Aronian stated that he considers Alexander Alekhine the greatest player of all time.[53]

text: In a 2015 interview after the 8th round of the Sinquefield Cup, Levon Aronian stated that he considers Garry Kasparov the greatest player of all time.[54]

text: Magnus Carlsen (2012 and 2015)[edit]

text: In 2012, Magnus Carlsen said that Kasparov is the greatest player of all time, adding that while Fischer may have been better at his best, Kasparov remained at the top for much longer.[55]

text: In December 2015, he repeated his great respect for both Fischer and Kasparov when he mentioned them several times in an interview, saying he would like to play against them at their peak performance. Also, he said he liked the style of play and games of Vladimir Kramnik. As the toughest opponent to beat at that time he named Levon Aronian.[56]

text: World Champions by world title reigns[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: The table below organises the world champions in order of championship wins. (For the purpose of this table, a successful defence counts as a win, even if the match was drawn.) The table is made more complicated by the split between the "Classical" and FIDE world titles between 1993 and 2006.

text:
Champion
Total
Undisputed
FIDE
Classical
Years as
Undisputed
Champion
Years as
FIDE/Classical
Champion
Total reign

Emanuel Lasker
6
6

27

27

Garry Kasparov
6
4

2
8
7
15

Anatoly Karpov
6
3
3

10
6
16

Mikhail Botvinnik
5
5

13

13

Viswanathan Anand
5
4
1

6
2
8

Alexander Alekhine
4
4

17

17

Wilhelm Steinitz
4
4

8

8

Magnus Carlsen
3
3

3

3

Vladimir Kramnik
3
1

2
1
6
7

Tigran Petrosian
2
2

6

6

José Raúl Capablanca
1
1

6

6

Boris Spassky
1
1

3

3

Bobby Fischer
1
1

3

3

Max Euwe
1
1

2

2

Vasily Smyslov
1
1

1

1

Mikhail Tal
1
1

1

1

Ruslan Ponomariov
1

1

2
2

Alexander Khalifman
1

1

1
1

Rustam Kasimdzhanov
1

1

1
1

Veselin Topalov
1

1

1
1


document_title: Rayna Jaymes

question_text: who does rayna end up with in nashville

question_tokens: who does rayna end up with in nashville

root

text: Rayna Jaymes

text: Casting and creation[edit]

text: Connie Britton was cast as Rayna Jaymes on March 6, 2012.[6][7] Rayna was characterized as the “reigning queen of country,” a 40-year-old country music superstar singer whose star is beginning to fade. The character of Rayna Jaymes is inspired from Britton's role as Tami Taylor on the TV series Friday Night Lights, with Nashville creator Callie Khouri creating the central characters as well as developing the core format specifically for Britton to star in the lead role.[8] Britton states that her performance as Jaymes is based on several country singers, including Faith Hill (who was also born in 1967), Reba McEntire, and Bonnie Raitt.[9] The writers also consulted country star Sara Evans when creating Rayna's character so that her experience of being a working mother in the music industry could be accurately portrayed.[10]

tag: p

text: Background[edit]

text: This section describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please help rewrite it to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. (February 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: Rayna, a nine-time Grammy Award–winner and fifteen-time CMA Award–nominee,inducted into the Grand Ole Opry as a member in 2005. She is the daughter of the late Virginia Wyatt and her husband, the late politician Lamar Wyatt (played by Powers Boothe) whom she was estranged from before he died due to him never approving of her career leading to her being kicked out at 16. Early in her career she dated songwriter and guitar player Deacon Claybourne when she was 19 around 1990 after the release of her debut hit album "Cowgirls Love Too Hard" which featured the hit "Changing Grounds". The couple worked together for a large part of Jaymes 90's catalogue as he was her lead guitarist for 2 decades on tour and a frequent collaborator. Jaymes sophomore album "Southside of Love" (1991) expanded her new age country sound that merged new age with traditional country. Jaymes 3rd album "Home" (1993) is recognized as one of the best country albums of the 1990s as it featured the iconic "No One Will Ever Love You". Ultimately Rayna sent Deacon to rehab (which would be his last time)due to his destructive patterns after multiple iconic albums and tours worked on together. While in rehab Jaymes began dating and married financial advisor Teddy Conrad. The couple moved to a mansion in Nashville during the height of Jaymes music career and had two daughters together, Maddie and Daphne. Teddy though is not Maddie's biological father, she is Deacon's child, though Deacon and Maddie did not know until she was 12. Maddie was born in 1999, the same year as Rayna's smash album "Until You Kissed Me" & multi-platinum song "This Love Ain't Big Enough". Daphne was born 2004 a year after the release of Jaymes multi-platinum record "Double Down" featuring the fan favorite song "Already Gone" which peaked at #1 on the country and Pop Charts.

text: She followed this up with the critically successful gold album "Thoroughbred" (2006). 2008 was another very successful era for Jaymes with her multi-platinum "Little Bits Of Heaven". in 2010 she released her first self-titled album "Rayna Jaymes" and followed it up in 2012 with the gold selling "Belt Buckle Blues" featuring top 20 country single "It's My Life". Though the album was her first too miss the top 10 landing in the 20's and falling to the charts top 40's in its following week. She ultimately canceled her "Belt Buckle Blues" tour and co-headlined with Country Pop singer Juliette Barnes on a single "Wrong Song" that was an instant hit and then co-headlined on tour with her, the "Red Lips White Lies" tour. Rayna then began her own record label "Highway 65 Records" in 2014 which she announced at the Grand Ole Opry. The "Red Lips White Lies" tour was a sell out but was stopped at a halt after the death of Juliette's mother, and then the near death car crash of Jaymes with Deacon Claybourne that led to her being in a coma for two weeks. Once she recovered she suffered from vocal damage and decided to take time off to spend with her daughters.

text: Though her follow up album was almost complete, her label wanted to rush release the album in order to capitalize on the publics re found love for Jaymes after her near death accident. Against Jaymes demands the label had police seize Jaymes for the masters to her album, threw out certain tracks, produced an album cover which featured her coming out of fire, and re-titled it "Rising out of the ashes". This led to her buying herself out of Edgehill Republic Records that year for a total of $20,000,000. The first release off of her label was her highly anticipated comeback album "The Parts I Remember" in 2015 which launched at number 1 on both the Billboard 200 Chart and the Billboard Country chart. This album was recorded while under Edgehill Republic and was her first album following her deadly car crash in 2013. The record ultimately was certified gold and its lead single "This Time" was certified platinum. She then went on to win 5 CMA's including "Album of the year", "Song of the year", "Female vocalist of the year", "Record of the year", and "Entertainer of the year".

text: Rayna has a catalogue of hit song after hit songs which include "Already Gone", "This Time", "The Last Stand", "Stompin' Grounds", "Changing Grounds", "This Love Ain't Big Enough", "Postcards From Mexico", "Buried Under", "Ball And Chain", and "American Beauty" to name a few. She also has a hit of ballads which she is well known for including "Sanctuary", "No One Will Ever Love You", "Don't Leave Without Me", "The Rivers Between Us", "This Could Be Us", "Stronger Than Me", and "Together We Stand" to name just a few.

text: Albums[edit]

text: 1990: Cowgirls Love Too Hard

text: -Sold 1 Million Copies

text: 1991: Southside Of Love

text: 1993: Home

text: 1995: Platinum Sea

text: -Sold 3 Million Copies

text: 1996: Postcards From Mexico

text: 1997: Sweet & Sorrow

text: 1999: Until You Kissed Me

text: -Sold 9 million Copies

text: 2000: Big Open Skies

text: 2003: Double Down

text: 2006: Thoroughbred

text: 2008: Little Bits Of Heaven

text: - Sold 6 Million Copies

text: 2010: Rayna Jaymes

text: 2012: Belt Buckle Blues

text: 2013: Best Of

text: - Sold 1 million copies

text: 2014: Four Platinum Albums (Compilation)

text: 2015: The Parts I Remember

text: 2016: Rayna Jaymes Live

text: 2017: (Unknown Album with Deacon Claybourne)

text: Singles[edit]

text: 1990: Changing Ground

text: 1991: Wayfaring Stranger

text: 1993: No One Will Ever Love You (featuring Deacon Claybourne)

text: 1995: American Beauty

text: 1995: Sanctuary

text: 1996: No One Will Ever Love You re-release(featuring Deacon Claybourne)

text: 1996: Postcards From Mexico (featuring Deacon Claybourne)

text: 1996: The Rivers Between Us (featuring Deacon Claybourne)

text: 1997: The Best Songs Come From Broken Hearts

text: 1999: This Love Ain't Big Enough

text: 1999: Surrender (featuring Deacon Claybourne)

text: 2003: Already Gone

text: 2006: I wanna do (everything for you)

text: 2008: The End Of The Day

text: 2012: It's My Life

text: 2012: Stomping Ground

text: 2012: Buried Under

text: 2013: Stronger Than Me

text: 2014: Ball & Chain (featuring: Luke Wheeler)

text: 2014: This Time

text: 2014: Gasoline and Matches (featuring: Sadie Stone)

text: 2015: Take Mine (featuring: Autumn Chase)

text: 2016: Hold Onto Me

text: 2016: Strong Tonight

text: 2016: Together We Stand (featuring: Daphne Conrad)

text: Tours[edit]

text: 1990: Cowgirls Love Too Hard Tour

text: 1996: No One Will Ever Love You Tour

text: 1999: Until You Kissed Me All Access Tour

text: 2000: Big Open Skies Tour

text: 2003: Double Down Tour

text: 2008: Little Bits Of Heaven World Tour

text: 2012: Belt Buckle Blues Tour

text: 2014: Ride Easy Tour (The Parts I Remember Tour)

text: 2014: The Honeymoon Tour with Luke Wheeler - 100 tour dates (Canceled)

text: 2015: Rayna Jaymes Live Tour

text: Labels[edit]

text: Edgehill Republic Entertainment Records: (1990-2013)

text: Highway 65 Records: (2013-2017)

text: Album Track listing[edit]

text: Our Truth [featuring Deacon Claybourne] (2017)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"Can't Remember Never Loving You"

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne

3:43

2.
"My Favorite Huricane"

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne

4:05

3.
"You're Mine (feat. Maddie Jaymes, Daphne Conrad, Juliette Barnes, Avery Barkley, Scarlett O' Connor (The Exes), Gunnar Scott (The Exes), & Will Lexington )"

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne
Avery Barkley

4:39

text: The Parts I Remember (2015)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"This Time"

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne
Liam McGuinness

3:43

2.
"Bitter Memory"

Rayna Jaymes
Brad Paisley
Liam McGuinness

Rayna Jaymes
Brad Paisley
Liam McGuinness

5:05

3.
"Wrong Song (feat. Juliette Barnes)"

Rayna Jaymes
Juliette Barnes

Rayna Jaymes
Juliette Barnes
Liam McGuinness

4:39

4.
"Ball And Chain (feat. Luke Wheeler)"

Gunnar Scott

Gunnar Scott
Liam McGuinness

4:38

5.
"Buried Under"

Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

4:11

6.
"Stronger Than Me"

Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

4:54

7.
"Together We Stand (feat. Daphne Conrad)"

Rayna Jaymes
Daphne Conrad

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

4:08

8.
"Strong Tonight"

Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

5:21

9.
"The Blues Have Blown Away (feat. Maddie Jaymes & Daphne Conrad)"

Rayna Jaymes
Daphne Conrad
Maddie Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

5:02

10.
"A Life That's Good {Quartet Version} (feat. Deacon Claybourne, Maddie Jaymes & Daphne Conrad)"

Deacon Claybourne

Deacon Claybourne
Liam McGuinness

5:21

11.
"Hold On To Me"

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

5:21

12.
"This Is Real Life (feat. Maddie Jaymes & Daphne Conrad)"

Rayna Jaymes
Daphne Conrad
Maddie Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

4:08

13.
"Wrong For The Right Reasons"

Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

4:00

14.
"Lies Of The Lonley [Bonus Track]"

Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

4:08

15.
"Take Mine (feat. Autumn Chase)[Bonus Track]"

Rayna Jaymes
Autumn Chase

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

4:08

16.
"Gasoline & Matches (feat. Saddie Stone)[Bonus Track]"

Julie Miller
Buddy Miller

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

4:08

17.
"He Ain't Gonna Change (feat. Juliette Barnes)[Bonus Track]"

Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness
Juliette Barnes

4:08

18.
"Buried Under (Alternate Version)[Bonus Track]"

Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

4:08

19.
"This Time {Quartet Version} (feat. Deacon Claybourne, Maddie Jaymes & Daphne Conrad)[Bonus Track]"

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne
Liam McGuinness

4:08

20.
"This Time (Acoustic Version) feat. Deacon Claybourne)[Bonus Track]"

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne

Rayna Jaymes
Deacon Claybourne
Liam McGuinness

4:08

21.
"Better Days [Bonus Track]"

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

4:12

22.
"Hickory [Bonus Track]"

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

Rayna Jaymes
Liam McGuinness

4:12

text: Four Platinum Albums (2014) [Southside Of Love, Big Open Skies, Belt Buckle Blues, The Best Of][edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"Wayfaring Stranger"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

2.
"Don't Leave Without Me"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

4:03

3.
"Already Gone"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:23

4.
"It's My Life"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:53

text: The Best Of (2013)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"Changing Grounds"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Belt Buckle Blues (2012)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"It's My Life"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Rayna Jaymes (2010)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"The Last Stand"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

2.
"Stompin' Ground"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Little Bits Of Heaven (2008)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"The End Of The Day (feat. Deacon Claybourne)"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Thoroughbred (2006)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"I Wanna Do (Everything For You) feat. Deacon Claybourne"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Double Down (2003)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"Already Gone"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Big Open Skies (2000)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"This Could Be Us"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

2.
"Don't Leave Without Me"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Until You Kissed Me (1999)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"This Love Ain't Big Enough"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

2.
"Surrender (feat. Deacon Claybourne)"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Sweet & Sorrow (1997)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"The Best Songs Come From Broken Hearts"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

2.
"Back Again"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Postcards From Mexico (1996)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"Postcards From Mexico (feat. Deacon Claybourne)"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

2.
"The Rivers Between Us (feat. Deacon Claybourne)"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Platinum Sea (1995)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"American Beauty"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

2.
"Sanctuary"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Home (1993)[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length

1.
"No One Will Ever Love You (feat. Deacon Claybourne)"

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes

3:43

text: Southside Of Love (1991)[edit]

text: Cowgirls Love Too Hard (1990)[edit]

text: Storylines[edit]

text: Season 1[edit]

text: After two decades of topping the charts, Rayna Jaymes’ career has begun to fall. Her latest album flopped so her record label suggests she open for the young country pop star Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere). Juliette hates Rayna because her mother Jolene (Sylvia Jefferies) was a fan of hers. When the president of their label, Marshall Evans, suggests that Rayna should collaborate with Juliette at a party for Edgehill, they write a song together. After their duet "Wrong Song" becomes a success, the two go on to co-headline a tour together. While Rayna is on tour Teddy visits her, telling her that he wants a divorce.

text: When Marshall threatens to release a Greatest Hits album against her will, Rayna decides to work on a new album with a non-country producer, Liam McGuinness. At first, Liam doesn't want to work with her. He changes his mind and then joins her band. When Rayna has the idea to start her own label, Liam does something behind her back. She fires him and dissolves their partnership. The two later reconcile and continue to work on her album. While they are on a break from the tour, Liam asks Rayna to spend the weekend away with him in St. Lucia. While she is packing for the trip, she realizes it feels wrong for her to go. She then goes to Deacon and tells him that she loves him and always has. The two spend the night together.[11]

text: The morning after Rayna tells Tandy that she and Deacon spent the night together. Tandy says it was just one night––a––fling and Rayna replies that it will never be one night or a fling with them because how they have always had a relationship. Tandy mentions how it's always been all or nothing between them and asks her if that is what she and Deacon want. Teddy is not excited when he finds out that Rayna and Deacon may now be a couple. He is against it because there is a chance of Deacon finding out that he is Maddie's biological father. Teddy tells her they made an agreement when Maddie was born and she has to honor it. Rayna promises him that she would never want to hurt their relationship and plans on keeping it a secret. After Maddie overhears her mother telling someone "I love you" on the phone she asks who she said that to. Rayna tells her she said that to Deacon and that they are together now. Later in the day when Rayna and Teddy are not home, Maddie snoops through her mother's closet and finds a box that contains a paternity test. Maddie talks to a friend over the phone and says that Teddy might not be her father. The next day Maddie tells Deacon that he might be her father, which leaves Deacon shocked. Backstage at the CMA Awards, Deacon confronts Rayna about him possibly being Maddie's biological father.

text: Rayna tells him the whole story of how she found out she was pregnant the last time he went to rehab. She talked about it with Teddy and they decided to get married and do a paternity test afterwards. Coleman advised her to cut ties with Deacon because they wanted him to get better. Teddy and Rayna wanted what was best for Maddie.[12] Deacon storms off and goes to a bar and begins to drink again. On the night Juliette plays a show at the Bluebird Cafe, Rayna runs after a drunk Deacon who leaves the café when the two notice each other. Rayna tells him that he is not driving anywhere and makes him move over to the passenger seat. On the way home the two argue which prevents Rayna from stopping at a stop sign. While swerving around the oncoming traffic, the car flips several times and lands in a ditch.

text: Season 2[edit]

text: Rayna is put in a medically induced coma and hangs on to life for two weeks following the wreck. Deacon believes he was the one driving and pleads guilty of driving under the influence. Rayna wakes up and is able to say that she was the one driving the car and Deacon is set free. There are several flashbacks showing Rayna's and Deacon's lives around the time she got pregnant with Maddie. During the flashbacks it is revealed that Deacon proposal to Rayna was followed by Maddie's conception. The morning after, Rayna realizes that Deacon had been drinking and didn't realize he had proposed. She gives back the ring and leaves him. She finds out that she's pregnant and almost tells Deacon, but she sees him drunk, tearing up his cabin, and Tandy suggests not telling him about the pregnancy.

text: Rayna struggles to get out of her contract with Edgehill and butts heads with the label's new CEO, Jeff Fordham, when he steals Will Lexington from Highway 65 and threatens to release a Rayna Jaymes Greatest Hits album against her will. Her father was going to loan her money to get her out of it but he was sent to prison before he had the chance to. She is eventually able to get out of her contract by using her mortgage. Tandy finds out Lamar was involved with the car crash that killed their mother but can't say anything about it. Rayna eventually finds out. Soon after Lamar is released from prison he suffers a fatal heart attack while visiting Teddy at his office.

text: During the season, Rayna and Deacon are able to repair their friendship following the events of the wreck and his discovery that he is Maddie's biological father. Maddie and Deacon spend more time together, and he gives her music lessons, much to Teddy's dislike. Also during the season, Rayna begins dating fellow country music singer, Luke Wheeler. When Maddie uploads a video of herself singing, using Deacon's last name, the media soon finds out the truth about her paternity. Rayna, Teddy and Deacon go on GMA to talk about the situation, and Deacon says that Teddy did a great job raising Maddie.

text: After Rayna and Luke finish singing "Ball and Chain" at her show at LP Field, Luke proposes to her on stage and she accepts. Later that night Deacon visits her telling her not to marry Luke because he now knows how to love her. He also proposes to her.

text: Season 3[edit]

text: Rayna must make a decision whom to marry – Luke or Deacon. She goes through old letters Deacon wrote to her, albums and starts playing their song, "Postcard from Mexico". While listening to the song she looks back at their relationship, which includes her going to his hotel room and finding him being passed out or being unable to find him anywhere. She also remembers a time that Luke was there for her. Rayna then goes to Deacon and tells him that she chooses Luke because they have a clean slate and that he is the safe choice. Deacon responds that he is not the right choice.

text: Looking for new artists to sign at Highway 65, she comes across a fellow country singer, Sadie Stone, who is looking for a new record deal. When Rayna hears that Jeff Fordham of Edgehill is talking to Sadie, she does, too. Rayna's manager Bucky later tells her that Sadie is leaning towards Edgehill so Rayna rushes to her before contracts are signed. Sadie says that Edgehill can make her as big as 'Rayna Jaymes' but Rayna says no, only she (Sadie) can make herself big. Rayna then explains to her that Jeff only wants to sign her so he can show her off to his board so they will see that he has a female artist on his roster, then forget about her. With Highway 65, she (Rayna)won't. At the beginning of her show Sadie announces that she signed with Rayna, leaving Jeff furious. In retaliation, Jeff calls someone saying that he is interested in signing a young sister act then waves to Teddy. He wants to sign Maddie and Daphne. Rayna becomes closer to Juliette when she is the first person Juliette tells about her pregnancy.

text: During her tour Rayna is also planning her wedding to Luke. Rayna and Luke go two months without really seeing each other and when they do have a few days off, Rayna uses that time to be interviewed by Rolling Stone. Luke is angry since they have barely seen each other. The Rolling Stone reporter then interviews her at home. As she, Luke, and the reporter walk around they hear loud music playing. They go find the noise and when they do, they walk in on Maddie and Luke's son, Colt, making out. Fearing that the reporter will write what he saw, Rayna goes to him and convinces him not to write about it, offering her story about Deacon instead. Rayna gets the most CMA nominations with six, including some for which she is up against Luke; "Entertainer of the Year", "Album" and "Single". When the CMA's finally come around, Rayna immediately wins the first award of the night for "Single of the Year", beating Luke. During her speech, she thanks Deacon who co-wrote it with her. Luke is not pleased. Rayna beats out Luke again for "Album of the Year". So far, Luke has only won "Male Vocalist" and then "Musical Event" with Rayna. To blow off steam he drinks and his ego gets to him. He walks off to the restroom, and Rayna follows him to see what's wrong. He complains about her thanking Deacon, saying she came to the show with him, not Deacon, and he is the reason her album went gold because he proposed to her the day it was released. As the show closes, Rayna sweeps her nominations and wins "Entertainer of the Year". At home, Luke apologizes for his behavior. He blames it on his ego and drinking and assures her that she is the only reason her album went gold.

text: As her wedding day approaches, Rayna starts to feel unsure about going through it. The girls talk about going to boarding school when they hear from Luke that his kids do. Rayna disapproves of them talking about that with him, without her. She tells the girls they aren't going to boarding school. One of the reasons is because she feels that everything is changing and not for the better. On the day of the wedding, Rayna tells Luke she can't marry him and calls it off, leaving him furious. Later that day, Rayna goes to Deacon to tell him she loves him and always has, but she needs some time for herself.'

text: Jeff now only wants to sign Maddie so he can have a singer like Taylor Swift on his roster. He blackmails Teddy into signing his consent that Maddie be signed since only one parent's consent is necessary. Rayna is furious when she finds out but she is able to prevent it when she tells Jeff's boss about Layla overdosing at Jeff's house, among other things. In addition to Maddie not getting signed, Jeff gets fired and Edgehill folds. Deacon finds out he has liver cancer but doesn't want Rayna to know. He tells Scarlett he is supposed to take care of Rayna, not the other way around. He keeps his distance from her for a while until she asks him to sing with her to celebrate the tenth anniversary of her induction into the Grand Ole Opry. When they finish singing he runs off to avoid talking to her. He goes to his cabin at the lake but she follows him. Deacon finally tells her that he has cancer and she breaks down. After spending all day at the lake talking, they finally get back together. They go back to Rayna's house so they can tell the girls they are back together, and so Deacon can tell them he is sick.

text: With Deacon's sister, Beverly, being his only match as a donor, Rayna goes to Mississippi to ask her but Beverly refuses. Rayna and Beverly don't have a good history with each other because years ago Deacon chose to join Rayna's band instead of making it big with Beverly, and Beverly resents Rayna for that. Beverly eventually agrees to be his donor. As the surgery approaches, Deacon has nightmares about dying. Before he goes into the O.R. he asks Rayna to marry him right then and there. She tells him no, they will wait until after the operation so they can have a proper ceremony. They do, however, recite wedding vows to each other. Rayna assures him that he is going to be alright. While waiting for the surgery to be over, Dr. Rand tells Rayna something has gone wrong. The heart-monitor then appears on screen showing a flat-line, leaving viewers to wonder if it was Deacon or Beverly who flat-lined.

text: Season 4[edit]

text: A month has past since the transplant. Deacon and Beverly made it through the surgery although Beverly had an aneurysm and is in a coma. Rayna, who just officially dropped Juliette from Highway 65, gets a call from her, crying and saying she needs help. Rayna flies out to Los Angeles to see her because she cares about her. When Rayna tries to talk to her after her set she doesn't have much luck. Juliette yells at her and says she is not having good luck with Highway 65. On her way back home in Nashville, Rayna hears the radio DJ's criticizing her about letting Juliette go and how she is not that good at running a label. In an effort to save her label Rayna tries to find a big-name artist to sign. She comes up with a rock star named Markus Keen who is looking for a new label but Bucky thinks it won't work because he is a rock artist. On a flight to New York she is conveniently seated right next to Markus. During the flight she smooth talks him about switching to country, convincing him that at her label he can be heard. Markus ends up signing with her. Scarlett makes the tough decision of taking Beverly off life support. At the funeral Deacon breaks down during the eulogy so Rayna takes over. After the funeral, Markus calls Rayna saying he is on his way to Nashville and ready to work. Rayna gets mad at Maddie when she finds out Juliette invited her to sing on stage with her in Atlanta and punishes her. She is having a tough time with Maddie and brings her and Daphne to the meeting with Markus. Markus gets Rayna to produce his album after he fires Avery for not "getting" his "vision", among other things. While working on the album he acts like an arrogant brat, as usual. He and Rayna don't see eye-to-eye so he storms off, saying this was a mistake. Markus eventually gets her version of his song now. Deacon decides to buy into a bar with one of his buddies, Frankie Grey, who was his AA sponsor. Rayna is unsure about it because he is a recovering alcoholic. They get into an argument over it but she eventually supports him. Deacon proposes to Rayna and she says yes.

text: When Rayna and Deacon's wedding day arrives, the paparazzi has discovered where the wedding is going to be held - at Rayna's late mother's country property, where she has lots of wonderful childhood memories with her mom and Tandy. Rayna's publicist finds a private barn where the wedding can be held out of the public eye. Maddie is concerned about her parents getting married because sometimes Deacon can be violent; for instance, when he pushed a paparazzi photographer out of the way and broke his camera in rage. Daphne is concerned about the marriage, too, because she's worried about being the outsider. Rayna assures both of the girls that there is nothing to worry about because they are a family and nothing is going to tear that apart, and Deacon loves them both more than anything. Tandy is openly opposed to the marriage and threatens to hunt Deacon down if he ever hurts her sister. The ceremony proceeds as ceremony, and Rayna and Deacon are now married.

text: Maddie runs away from home to live with Frankie's daughter Cash, and Cash is going to help her with her career. Cash tells Maddie about the recording contract at Edgehill she was offered that she didn't know about. Maddie feels that her mother is standing in her way and wants to be emancipated so she can take control of her career. Rayna doesn't want Maddie to be like her, when she was younger and left home for a career. She wants to shield her from being exploited, but she also fears she is losing her. At the hearing Deacon's violent, drunken past is exposed to the judge. The lawyer uses this as a tool to help get Maddie emancipated. Deacon realizes the only way the lawyer knew all of that is because Frankie told Cash, who then told the lawyer. Deacon then confronts Frankie outside of their bar. The two get into a brawl after Frankie sucker punches him. Just as Deacon bloodies Frankie's nose, everyone from inside comes out to, and Frankie accuses Deacon of trying to kill him. This causes the judge to decide to grant Maddie's emancipation. Cash wants Maddie to get away from Nashville so there will be no connections to Rayna, and Maddie signs with a shady label in New York. When an older record producer attempts to assault Maddie, Deacon bursts in and rescues her. Maddie reconciles with her family, and as the season comes to a close Rayna, Deacon, Maddie and Daphne are a happy family once more.

text: Season 5[edit]

text: Rayna has her family back at last. The season opens with the family watching the news coverage of Juliette's plane crash. Rayna has some financial problems with the label hitting some bumps in the road. She agrees to play at a private event in Silicon Valley hosted by an app developer named Zach Wells (who is a fanboy of hers) as a way to bring in money. Zach informs Rayna that he is on his way to Nashville. He wants to "hack her cloud" and wants to go into business with her. She and Deacon are unsure of the proposal, but she needs the money. In return, Zach wants 20% of Highway 65. Luke has put Wheelin' Dealin' Records up for sale, and Zach wants Highway 65 to acquire it. Rayna gets inspired for her and Deacon to write their story for a concept album featuring the two of them.

text: Rayna also has a stalker. One day when she walks into work, someone watches her as they listen to her music. A few days later Rayna discovers a mysterious package with no stamp at her door. It contains a letter and rose petals. More mysterious letters show up and she and Bucky try to figure out who is behind them. The man who wrote the letters, Wayne Hockney, shows up at Highway 65, which alarms her. Bucky escorts him out while she calls for security. She gets a restraining order against Hockney and increases security at her house. One day Hockney shows up at Daphne's school. He taunts the Jaymes/Claybourne household by going as far as he can while still obeying the restraining order. This drives them crazy, turning their lives upside down, and Deacon wants to confront him, but the police advise not to do that. They want him arrested but he hasn't done anything for which he can be arrested. He eventually violates the restraining order by surprising Rayna at work. He holes up in her office where they talk, and when she tries to get free he catches her and threatens her with a knife. After pleas from Rayna and the police he lets her go and is arrested. The police take her home, and as she is on the phone with Deacon to tell him what happened an oncoming car crashes into them, sending Rayna to the hospital.

text: Due to the crash, Rayna has a shattered pelvis and hip, and is in surgery for four hours. Lying in her hospital bed, Rayna sees her dead mother and talks to her. This worries Deacon because he knows people can experience that when they are on the brink of death, but the doctor tells him not to worry. Daphne's choir comes to the hospital to support her. While they sing for Rayna she crashes and is sent to the ICU. Her organs are failing, her condition worsens and her outcome isn't too promising. She can't hold on any longer, and dies with her family by her side. Following her death, Bucky announced that the CMT Awards (where Rayna was scheduled to perform) had planned a musical tribute by Faith Hill. Juliette convinces the organizers that she knew Rayna best and should sing instead, however, when she comes to perform "Sanctuary", she leaves the stage and allows Maddie to sing instead. Maddie breaks down halfway through the song and is then joined by Daphne and Deacon, with the trio receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.

text: Rayna's death causes tension within the family when Teddy and Tandy suggest that the girls should live with Teddy (as Daphne is biologically his and Deacon has proven to be an unstable parent). Tandy also states that Deacon is not fully equipped to run Highway 65. Eventually, Teddy realizes that Rayna would have wanted Maddie and Daphne to stay with Deacon. At a Highway 65 meeting, Deacon is furious when Zach states that they should release Deacon and Rayna's duet album (as Rayna had completed the majority of her studio recordings before her death) although he later comes to see that the album is the perfect way to end Rayna's career. Deacon goes into their home studio where he finds Bucky, Gunnar, Scarlett, Will, Avery, Juliette, Maddie and Daphne all singing along with Rayna's recording of the track "You're Mine" and he joins them, seeing it as their final song together.

text: Departure[edit]

text: After CMT picked up Nashville in summer 2016, there were rumors that Britton would depart the series after ten episodes. In the ninth episode of season 5, Rayna dies onscreen following injuries from a car crash. Discussing her reason for leaving the show, Britton stated "various reasons, had been percolating for me. What was really important to me was that it felt like the right time." "There were a lot of different factors that played into it; it was a cumulative thing. I don't need to go into greater detail about what that was but, for me it felt like the timing was important and my No. 1 priority was the show and making sure that it was done in the right way."[13]


document_title: American Horror Story: Murder House

question_text: who plays the mom in american horror story season 1

text: American Horror Story: Murder House

text: Plot[edit]

text: The first season follows the Harmon family: Ben (Dylan McDermott), Vivien (Connie Britton) and Violet (Taissa Farmiga), who move from Boston to Los Angeles to start a new life in a Victorian mansion, after Vivien has a miscarriage and Ben has an affair with Hayden (Kate Mara), one of his students. On arrival, they learn from Marcy (Christine Estabrook), the real estate agent, that the previous owners of their new mansion, a couple named Chad and Patrick (Zachary Quinto and Teddy Sears), died in an apparent murder/suicide. Their neighbor Constance (Jessica Lange) and her daughter Addie (Jamie Brewer) become frequent, and mostly unwelcome, guests. Addie seems to have a connection with the house's mysterious past. Larry Harvey (Denis O'Hare), a former resident of the house who has suffered from terrible burns, also begins inserting himself into the Harmons' lives, giving Ben a cryptic warning about the house. The house also "comes with" Moira O'Hara (Frances Conroy/Alexandra Breckenridge), a housekeeper who appears young and seductive to men, but old and matronly to women.

text: Ben begins seeing patients out of his home office. One in particular, a possibly psychotic teenage boy named Tate Langdon (Evan Peters), takes interest in kindred spirit Violet, who suffers from depression. Ben is unaware that Tate is both a ghost and the son of Constance. As the family settles into the home, bizarre events begin to occur with increasing regularity. It is soon revealed that there have been upwards of 20 violent deaths in the home over the course of its history, so much so that it has come to be known as "The Murder House". The family struggles with their own personal tribulations, oblivious to the reality that their home is haunted by ghosts. While exploring the attic, Vivien discovers a latex bondage suit. She later is raped by a man wearing it, who she believes is Ben, but is actually Tate. Vivien's rape results in the rare occurrence of becoming pregnant with twins by different fathers. It is later revealed that Tate's motive in having sex with Vivien was to conceive a baby for Nora (Lily Rabe), a ghost in the house who lost her own child. Hayden comes from Boston and tries to blackmail Ben into abandoning Vivien, so they can start their relationship over, threatening to tell Vivien that she's pregnant with Ben's baby. She is killed by Larry and buried by Ben in the house grounds, thus coming back as a ghost. Several ghosts in the house, including Hayden and Nora, conspire to drive Vivien mad so that they can raise the babies as their own.

text: On Halloween, the one day in which the dead can walk among the living, Violet learns that Tate is an infamous school shooter, who killed a library full of his classmates (as well as crippling a teacher and setting Larry Harvey on fire) to punish his mother Constance for having Tate's younger (and deformed) brother smothered to death. Addie is run over by a car, and Constance fails to get her corpse to the Harmon's property in time to imprison her spirit so that she can be reunited with her brother's ghost. Vivien, meanwhile, learns from the "Murder House Tour" that the house was the home of a back alley abortionist and that the still-living monster in the basement of the house is the creation of the doctor, whose son was killed by a patient's vengeful boyfriend, dismembered and resurrected as the monstrous "Infantata".

text: Faced with the monster Tate is, and her own romantic feelings for him, Violet accidentally kills herself, something she doesn't realize was successful until weeks later when she discovers she cannot leave the house. After many ghosts, Vivien is committed to an insane asylum, while Ben is convinced that the second twin was fathered by Luke (Morris Chestnut), a neighbourhood security officer. Meanwhile, Constance enlists the help of a medium, Billie Dean Howard (Sarah Paulson), to help her talk to Addie. Constance discovers from Billie Dean to her horror, that Tate's child with Vivien will become the Antichrist. After Ben learns of Tate being the "Rubber Man", he has Vivien freed from the asylum.

text: Vivien gives birth to the twins in the house, with Moira recruiting the more benevolent ghosts of the house to help her deliver the children. Vivien and one of the newborn babies die, leaving Ben with the surviving twin. Violet breaks up with Tate after Chad reveals that Tate raped Violet's mother and murdered him and his boyfriend due to their deciding not to have a child. Ben tries to get into contact with his now dead wife and daughter, who refuse to show themselves. As he grieves, he contemplates suicide to be with them. Instead, Vivien shows herself and convinces Ben to leave the house immediately for the protection of the baby. As Ben is leaving the house, he is caught and murdered by Hayden, who hangs him to simulate a suicide. Hayden attempts to take the baby, but Constance, with the help of the ghost of a lover named Travis (Michael Graziadei), whom Hayden murdered, takes the child instead. Constance hides the baby and tells the police that Ben killed himself out of grief for his wife's death and that Violet (whose body is never found) ran off with the surviving child.

text: Now trapped in the house, the Harmons team up with Moira and the other benevolent spirits to forbid other families from moving in by scaring them away. Meanwhile, Tate has consigned himself to living with Hayden, both of whom have been blocked out by the Harmons using a trick that Tate taught Violet. As the Harmons are decorating a Christmas tree, Tate promises to wait for Violet forever, as he and Hayden watch on through a door frame. Three years later, Constance (who left town) returns to Los Angeles, but finds that her grandson, Michael (the Antichrist), has murdered his nanny. She slowly walks towards the smiling child as he rocks back and forth. She then smiles and whispers, "Now what am I gonna do with you?"

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Connie Britton as Vivien Harmon
Dylan McDermott as Dr. Ben Harmon
Evan Peters as Tate Langdon
Taissa Farmiga as Violet Harmon
Denis O'Hare as Larry Harvey
Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon

tag: ul

text: Special guest stars[edit]

text:
Kate Mara as Hayden McClaine
Zachary Quinto as Chad Warwick
Eric Stonestreet as Derek
Charles S. Dutton as Detective Granger

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Frances Conroy as Moira O'Hara
Lily Rabe as Nora Montgomery
Alexandra Breckenridge as Young Moira O'Hara
Jamie Brewer as Adelaide "Addie" Langdon
Christine Estabrook as Marcy
Morris Chestnut as Luke
Matt Ross as Dr. Charles Montgomery
Bodhi Schulz as Troy
Kai Schulz as Bryan
Michael Graziadei as Travis Wanderley
Celia Finkelstein as Nurse Gladys
Eve Gordon as Dr. Hall
Rosa Salazar as Nurse Maria
Teddy Sears as Patrick
Azura Skye as Fiona
Kyle Davis as Dallas
Adina Porter as Sally Freeman
Sarah Paulson as Billie Dean Howard
Shelby Young as Leah
Rebecca Wisocky as Lorraine Harvey
Sam Kinsey as Beauregard "Beau" Langdon
David Anthony Higgins as Stan
Mena Suvari as Elizabeth Short
Malaya Rivera Drew as Detective Barrios
Ben Woolf as Thaddeus Montgomery / The Infantata
Eric Close as Hugo Langdon
Brando Eaton as Kyle Greenwell
Ashley Rickards as Chloe Stapleton
Alessandra Torresani as Stephanie Boggs
Jordan David as Kevin Gedman
Alexander Nimetz as Amir Stanley

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)

1
1
"Pilot"
Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk
October 5, 2011 (2011-10-05)
1ATS79
3.18[1]

The Harmon family moves from Boston to Los Angeles to recover from mother Vivien's (Connie Britton) miscarriage and father Ben's (Dylan McDermott) infidelity with one of his students. Daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga) starts at a new school, only to be terrorized by a group of girls. The family deals with intrusive neighbors Constance (Jessica Lange) and her daughter, Addie (Jamie Brewer), who has Down syndrome, along with Larry (Denis O'Hare), a previous homeowner who set fire to his entire family. Larry's face is severely scarred, likely due to this incident. Ben, a psychiatrist, sees patients out of his home, one of them, a possibly psychotic boy named Tate (Evan Peters), who becomes friends with Violet. Vivien rehires the house's former housekeeper, an elderly Moira (Frances Conroy), who appears to Ben as a young, seductive maid (Alexandra Breckenridge). Ben and Vivien eventually have sex, once after a fight, and later while she thinks he has dressed up in a bondage suit. She later tells Ben she's pregnant.

2
2
"Home Invasion"
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk
October 12, 2011 (2011-10-12)
1ATS01
2.46[2]

After meeting with a new patient, Bianca (Mageina Tovah), Ben receives a call from his ex-mistress, Hayden (Kate Mara), who tells him she's pregnant and needs his support for an abortion. Ben lies to Vivien to resolve his past. A trio of serial killer enthusiasts led by Bianca break into the house to re-enact the brutal murders of two nursing students, Maria and Gladys, when the house was used as a dormitory in 1968. Vivien and Violet are the intended victims, but they escape their captors, who become lost in the house. Tate and the ghosts of the house dispatch the intruders. Upon hearing of what happened, Ben leaves Hayden at the clinic and rushes home. Vivien tells him that they are selling the house.

3
3
"Murder House"
Bradley Buecker
Jennifer Salt
October 19, 2011 (2011-10-19)
1ATS02
2.59[3]

The Harmon's finances take a blow, making moving impractical. Hayden surprises Ben by appearing at his doorstep; she is keeping the baby, determined to continue their affair. Vivien learns about the house's original owners: a crazed surgeon, Charles Montgomery (Matt Ross), and his wife, Nora (Lily Rabe), who provided illegal abortions in their basement, until their bitter marriage ended in murder. After spotting blood, Vivien is told by her doctor that the baby is fine. Ben passes out, and the doctor informs him that he found traces of an opiate that causes memory loss. Ben confronts Moira, who has been trying to seduce him, about poisoning his coffee with the opiate. Hayden shows up again, frantic that Ben has ignored her. As he takes her outside to calm her down, Larry kills her with a shovel to help Ben, who becomes distraught. Larry convinces him that getting rid of the body is the best option. Larry digs a hole, discovering Moira's remains, but buries Hayden over them.

4
4
"Halloween (Part 1)"
David Semel
James Wong
October 26, 2011 (2011-10-26)
1ATS03
2.96[4]

The Harmons hire interior designers ("fluffers") to make over the house to help it sell, mistaking the arrivals of Chad (Zachary Quinto) and his partner Patrick (Teddy Sears) as the fluffers. Unknown to the Harmons, the couple are the former owners who were killed by the Rubber Man in the house one year ago. Violet demands Tate tells her what is in the basement. Tate says it is the still-living abomination created when Dr. Montgomery, driven insane, tried to bring his dismembered child back to life by sewing the pieces together with various animal parts. Vivien confronts Ben, who swears that Hayden is gone. The baby begins kicking, an impossibility at 8 weeks. At the hospital, an ultrasound reveals that the baby is more developed than it should be; the ultrasound technician collapses after seeing the baby onscreen. While trick-or-treating, Addie is fatally hit by a car and Constance attempts to get her to the Harmon's lawn before she dies. Violet is alone in the house when Larry arrives; the Rubber Man is behind her. The Harmon's return from the hospital to find the house broken into and Violet missing. Ben answers a knock at the door, finding Hayden's ghost standing there, covered in dirt.

5
5
"Halloween (Part 2)"
David Semel
Tim Minear
November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02)
1ATS04
2.74[5]

The Rubber Man disappears, and Tate appears. He and Violet go on their date to the beach, and Tate tells her high school was terrible for him. Five mangled, bloody teens appear and harass Tate, prompting the couple to leave. Vivien tells Ben that Hayden is in the house. Ben finds her in the basement, but Larry knocks him out with the shovel and ties him up. Nora frees him, urging him to save his child. Hayden appears to Vivien and both are shocked to learn that the other is pregnant with Ben's child. Hayden attacks her, but is stopped by Ben, who is forced to admit that he impregnated Hayden months after Vivien discovered the affair. The teens find Tate and Violet, but Tate protects Violet by making them chase him. Constance takes Violet to her house, revealing that Addie is dead and Tate is her son. The teens are revealed to be ghosts from various cliques at Westfield High who were killed when Tate committed a school shooting in 1994. The ghosts angrily demand to know why he killed them and that he admit what he did, but Tate cannot remember anything about them. Two of the ghosts, one being a football player and the other a cheerleader, asked why he "targeted jocks" which is probably a reference to the Columbine massacre. With Halloween night ending, the teens depart. The other ghosts including Moira, Chad, Patrick, and Nora warily return to the house. Ben packs and sadly leaves the house.

6
6
"Piggy Piggy"
Michael Uppendahl
Jessica Sharzer
November 9, 2011 (2011-11-09)
1ATS05
2.83[6]

After Violet confirms online that Tate was killed after his massacre at Westfield High (shot by a SWAT team in the house), Constance introduces her to a medium, Billie Dean (Sarah Paulson) and she and Constance explain that Tate is unaware he is dead. Constance has been sending him to Ben, hoping a breakthrough will help him pass on and they need Violet's help, though Violet is shaken by the revelation. Ben needs to use the house for his therapy sessions to make them money, and Vivien agrees out of necessity. Ben sees a new patient, Derek (Eric Stonestreet), who is terrified by urban legends, most recently the legend of "Piggy Man", who will slaughter anyone who repeats a specific mantra in the mirror. Ben begins noticing that Vivien has developed an attraction to the security officer. Vivien contacts the ultrasound technician, who fainted during the ultrasound and has since quit her job, claiming she saw that the baby was the Antichrist. Taking Ben's advice to face his fear, Derek repeats the mantra in his bathroom mirror, but is ironically shot and killed by an armed robber. Violet tries to confront Tate, but is mobbed by the other ghosts. Overwhelmed, she attempts suicide, but Tate saves her. Tate tearfully confesses that he loves her. He plans to leave her alone, but she comforts him.

7
7
"Open House"
Tim Hunter
Brad Falchuk
November 16, 2011 (2011-11-16)
1ATS06
3.06[7]

In 1994, Larry, in love with Constance, mercy-kills her deformed son, Beau, who lives chained in the attic, at Constance's request upon learning that Beau would be taken away from her due to her neglectful parenting. In the present, Violet takes solace in Tate, who says he is aware of the ghosts and that they will not harm her if she tells them to leave her alone. He shows her old photographs he found of the house and the Montgomerys. Vivien learns she is pregnant with twins. Resolved to be upfront with prospective buyers about the house's past, she learns of the Montgomerys and that Charles revived their son into a monster, causing Nora to go insane and kill him and herself. Ben finds Larry's home and confronts him, learning that Larry wants the house so he can be with Constance. Violet shares the photos of the Montgomerys with Vivien, who is shocked to find that she recognizes Nora as one of the interested buyers from Episode 3.

8
8
"Rubber Man"
Miguel Arteta
Ryan Murphy
November 23, 2011 (2011-11-23)
1ATS07
2.81[8]

Tate is revealed to be the Rubber Man, attempting to provide the distraught Nora with a baby. The outfit is a fetish suit Chad bought in hopes of reigniting his and Patrick's failing relationship. Tate donned the suit and killed Patrick and Chad after they decided not to have a baby, hoping that a new family would move in and have a child, which Nora could then have. In the present, Hayden conspires with Nora to drive Vivien insane so that they can have her twins. Vivien and Violet are confronted by the ghostly house intruders from Episode 2; Ben believes that Vivien is mentally unstable because the police found no evidence of the intruders' presence and Violet lied about what she saw. He prohibits Vivien from leaving, believing that she is trying to take Violet and the twins away from him. Vivien steals Marcy's handgun for protection. Hayden convinces Tate, as the Rubber Man, to attack Vivien, revealing that Tate fathered one of Vivien's twins. During the attack, Vivien accidentally shoots Ben, who is convinced that she is a danger to herself and to others. Vivien's reaction to another poltergeist results in the police taking her away. The full scene of Chad and Patrick's murder is shown; it is revealed that after Tate immobilized them, Moira gave Tate the couple's gun, which Tate used to make the scene look like a murder/suicide.

9
9
"Spooky Little Girl"
John Scott
Jennifer Salt
November 30, 2011 (2011-11-30)
1ATS08
2.85[9]

The events of the famous 1940s Black Dahlia case are shown. A dentist raped Elizabeth Short while she was under anesthesia, only to find he had administered too much and she had died. The ghost of Charles Montgomery dismembers her corpse. In the present, Elizabeth's ghost appears to Ben, seeking his psychiatric help. Ben receives a call from Vivien's OB/GYN telling him that Vivien's twins have separate fathers – him and someone else. He accuses Vivien of cheating on him. Hayden tells him that she saw Vivien and Luke, the security guard, growing closer. Ben confronts Luke about the possible paternity and learns that Luke is sterile. Constance and Travis get into a domestic dispute; Travis has sex with Hayden in the Harmon house. Hayden kills him, and Larry, who "owes her a favor", takes Travis' body and dumps it out in public in the Black Dahlia tradition. Ben finds the Rubber Man's mask and realizes the possibility that Vivien had been raped. Constance is told by Moira that Tate is the other father. She asks Billie Dean what would happen if a ghost sires a living child. The medium tells her of the Pope's knowledge of such an event as the beginning of the Apocalypse by the Antichrist.

10
10
"Smoldering Children"
Michael Lehmann
James Wong
December 7, 2011 (2011-12-07)
1ATS09
2.54[10]

It is revealed that Tate caused Larry's scars by setting him on fire on the morning of the school shooting. Constance is told by police of Travis' murder, and her behavior causes them to suspect her as his killer. Ben learns that Violet has not been seen in school in over two weeks and notices a blowfly infestation in the house. Ben calls an exterminator to deal with the infestation, which results in Tate killing the exterminator while he investigates the crawl space beneath the house. Ben and Violet argue about her school attendance which ultimately ends in her reluctant agreement to return on the condition that she changes schools. Ben checks out boarding schools for Violet and, upon hearing this, Tate takes measures to keep her around, ending in showing Violet her own corpse in the house's crawl space. Violet had actually died from her suicide attempt in episode 6, despite Tate's attempts to save her. In an act of penance for his own crimes, Larry confesses to the murder of Travis after meeting the ghosts of his wife and two daughters for the first time. Ben learns that Tate is the Rubber Man and the other one who got Vivien pregnant.

11
11
"Birth"
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Tim Minear
December 14, 2011 (2011-12-14)
1ATS10
2.59[11]

Ben goes to pick Vivien up at the sanitarium, intent on taking Violet with him. However Violet, being a ghost, is trapped on the property. He takes Vivien home to pick up Violet as Vivien insists on going to her sister's in Florida. While waiting in the car, Vivien begins to have labor pains. Violet tries to explain to her father that she is dead. Constance brings Vivien into the house and goes to get "help" to assist in the delivery – the ghosts of Dr. Charles Montgomery and the 1968 nurses. As Vivien goes into labor, Chad tells Violet that Tate was the one who sired one of the twins. Vivien has great difficulty giving birth to the babies, losing one to stillbirth while the other causes her to bleed internally. Violet appears to comfort her mother and asks her to "come be with her". Vivien dies and Violet confronts Tate, telling him she loves him but can never forgive him. She screams for him to go away and he does. Vivien appears and comforts her daughter in the afterlife.

12
12
"Afterbirth"
Bradley Buecker
Jessica Sharzer
December 21, 2011 (2011-12-21)
1ATS11
3.22[12]

Ben, feeling alone, plans to commit suicide, but the ghosts of Violet and Vivien encourage him to take the living twin and get out of the house. During his attempt, he is killed by Hayden and the home-invader ghosts, hanged from the chandelier; Constance takes the living twin. Moira and other "innocent" ghosts help the Harmon ghosts prevent the deaths of further tenants by scaring away the first family that wants to move in, the Ramoses. Tate, feeling alienated, tries to kill the Ramos son, so Violet won't be alone. She prevents this by distracting Tate. Nora, who wants a child since hers was murdered and turned evil, relinquishes motherhood of the dead Harmon twin to Vivien, who asks Moira to be its godmother. The Harmons and Moira decorate the house for Christmas, while Tate tells Hayden he will wait "forever" for Violet. Three years later, Constance comes home and sees a trail of blood on the floor, leading to the bedroom of the living Harmon twin, now about three years old and looking much like Tate. He has murdered his nanny and is sitting in a rocking chair, smiling up at Constance.

text: Production[edit]

text: Conception[edit]

text:
What you saw in the finale was the end of the Harmon house. The second season of the show will be a brand-new home or building to haunt. Just like this year every season of this show will have a beginning, middle and end. [The second season] won't be in L.A. It will obviously be in America, but in a completely different locale.
“
”

– Murphy on American Horror Story's second season.[13]

tag: div

text: Creators Murphy and Falchuk began working on American Horror Story before their Fox series Glee began production.[14] Murphy wanted to do the opposite of what he had done previously and thus began his work on the series. He stated, "I went from Nip/Tuck to Glee, so it made sense that I wanted to do something challenging and dark. And I always had loved, as Brad had, the horror genre. So it just was a natural for me." Falchuk was intrigued by the idea of putting a different angle on the horror genre, stating that their main goal in creating the series was to scare viewers. "You want people to be a little bit off balance afterwards," he said.[15]

text: The dark tone of the series is modeled after the ABC soap opera Dark Shadows, which Murphy's grandmother forced him to watch when he was younger to toughen him up.[16] He also cited Rosemary's Baby, Don't Look Now, The Amityville Horror, and Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining as influences for the series.

text: From the beginning, Murphy and Falchuk planned that each season of the series would tell a different story.[13] After the first-season finale aired, Murphy spoke of his plans to change the cast and location for the second season, while retaining some actors from the first,[17] "The people that are coming back will be playing completely different characters, creatures, monsters, etc. [The Harmons'] stories are done."[13]

text: In February 2011, FX officially announced that it had ordered a pilot for a possible series from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, with both Murphy and Falchuk writing and Murphy directing. Dante Di Loreto was announced as executive producer. Production on the series began in April 2011.[18] In July 2011, FX officially announced the project had been given a series order consisting of 13 episodes.[19] In August 2011, it was announced that Tim Minear, Jennifer Salt, James Wong and Jessica Sharzer had joined the series as writers.[20]

text: Future season[edit]

text: On October 30, 2016, Murphy announced that a future crossover season of the series will continue the Murder House and Coven stories, merging their characters and themes. He did not state which season it would be, but that he had already reached out to actors from both seasons to reprise their respective roles.[21] Murphy later confirmed one of the Murder House characters will be moved in the season finale of Coven. However, in January 5, 2018, it was announced that the crossover season will be take place in the ninth season.

text: Casting[edit]

text: Casting announcements began in March 2011, with Connie Britton first to be cast, portraying female lead Vivien Harmon.[22] Britton stated that she took a risk in taking the role of Vivien. When Murphy presented the role to her, he said, "This is something we've never seen you do before. It will be turning what you've just been doing on its ear." She was intrigued by what he had presented her and ultimately decided to take the part.[23] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, series co-creator Ryan Murphy stated that he had told Connie Britton, early on, that her character Vivien would die in the first season. "We've really had the whole season mapped out from the beginning," he said. "In the meetings with the core actors, the three leads being Connie, Dylan [McDermott] and Jessica [Lange], as we tried to snare them we were able to say this is where you start, this is the middle, and this is where you end up. So, yes, I was able to tell Connie really the whole run of the series."[24]

text: Denis O'Hare joined the cast in late March 2011 as Larry Harvey.[25] Jessica Lange joined the cast in April 2011 as Constance, marking her first regular role on television.[26] Lange was attracted to the role because it didn't require a 22-episode commitment like a series on a broadcast network. "That was huge for me!" she said. "I wasn't about to commit to, you know, six months. It was cable, rather than network... I've been offered network [shows] before, and determined not to do it, just because I can't make that kind of time commitment."[27]

text: Dylan McDermott was cast as the lead Ben Harmon in late April 2011. His character was initially described as "a handsome and masculine but sensitive therapist who loves his family but has hurt his wife."[28] McDermott stated that he wanted to do the role to break away from his previous role as Bobby Donnell in the ABC series The Practice. "This was exactly why I wanted to do this show – to change it up and do a different kind of character. People think of me as the guy from The Practice... I wanted to turn that [notion] on its head and hopefully I'm doing that [with this show]", he said.[29]

text: In May 2011, Taissa Farmiga and Evan Peters were the last lead actors to be cast, portraying Violet Harmon and Tate Langdon, respectively.[30] Farmiga said that she loved Violet "immediately" and that "she had spunk to her, she had attitude."[31] Murphy has described Tate as the "true monster" of the series, adding, "To Evan's great credit and the credit of the writers, I think Evan's done an amazingly difficult job making a monster sympathetic."[32]

text: Filming[edit]

text: The pilot episode was shot on location in a house in Country Club Park, Los Angeles, California, which serves as the haunted house and crime scene in the series. Designed and built in 1902 by Alfred Rosenheim, the president of the American Institute of Architects' Los Angeles chapter, the Tudor or Collegiate Gothic-style single family home was previously used as a convent.[33][34] An adjoining chapel was removed from exterior shots using CGI.[35]

text: The series is filmed on sets that are an exact replica of the house.[36] Details such as Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows, and hammered bronze light fixtures, were re-created to preserve the look of the house.[33] The house became available for rent on Airbnb for six months, beginning February 2016, before being unlisted.[37]

text: Due to a "very aggressive" production schedule and the series' pilot shoot having to wait for co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's other show, Glee, to wrap its second season production, it was announced that the show's first-season finale, the thirteenth episode, would be thirty minutes shorter than planned.[38] Finally, the thirteenth episode was dropped and they made the twelfth episode 10 minutes longer (52 minutes). The finale aired on December 21, 2011.

text: Title sequence[edit]

text: The opening title sequence was created by Kyle Cooper and his company Prologue. He also created the title sequence for the AMC series The Walking Dead and the 1995 film Se7en. The theme music was composed by sound designer Cesar Davila-Irizarry and musician Charlie Clouser.[39] The sequence is set in the Harmons' basement and includes images of postmortem young children, unborn (or aborted) babies in jars, skulls, a Christening dress, a nurse's uniform, and a figure holding a pair of bloody hedge clippers. Murphy described the sequence as a mini-mystery and stated, "By the time you see the ninth episode of this season, every image in that title sequence will be explained".[40]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: American Horror Story received generally positive reviews from critics. The first episode scored 62 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 30 reviews.[41] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 74% approval rating with an average rating of 6.6/10 based on 38 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Convoluted yet effective, American Horror Story is strange, gory, and twisted enough to keep viewers hooked."[42] Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly awarded the pilot episode a B+, stating, "AHS is pretty much all scare, all the time: a whole lotta screams, sex, jolts, mashed faces, psychotic behavior, and dead babies."[43] Chuck Barney of the San Jose Mercury News said, "Most TV shows, after all, quickly fade from memory. This one will haunt your dreams."[44] Hank Stuever from The Washington Post said in his review, "Overdoing things is one of Murphy's trademark flaws, but this show has a captivating style and giddy gross-outs."[45] The New York Times' Mike Hale called the show "a more classically minded chiller," taking into mind the success of HBO's True Blood and AMC's The Walking Dead.[46] However, not all reviews were favorable. Alan Sepinwall of HitFix gave the series a D−, saying, "It is so far over the top that the top is a microscopic speck in its rearview mirror."[47]

text:
American Horror Story (season 1): Critical reception by episode

Season 1 (2011): Percentage of positive reviews tracked by the website Rotten Tomatoes[48]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text: In its first season, American Horror Story was nominated for 65 awards, and won 19.

text:
Year
Association
Category
Nominated work
Result

2011
IGN's Best of 2011: TV[49]
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Series
American Horror Story
Won

16th Satellite Awards
Best TV Series – Genre
Won

Special Achievement Award: Outstanding Performance in a TV Series
Jessica Lange
Won

2012
18th Screen Actors Guild Awards
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Won

3rd Dorian Awards[50]
TV Performance of the Year
Won

TV Drama of the Year
American Horror Story
Won

LGBT-Themed TV Show of the Year
Nominated

Campy TV Show of the Year
Nominated

Bram Stoker Award 2011[51]
Best Screenplay
Jessica Sharzer (for "Afterbirth")
Won

38th Saturn Awards
Best Actress on TV
Jessica Lange
Nominated

Best Actor on TV
Dylan McDermott
Nominated

Best Supporting Actress on TV
Frances Conroy
Nominated

Best Guest Performer on TV
Zachary Quinto
Nominated

Best Syndicated/Cable TV Series
American Horror Story
Nominated

2nd Critics' Choice TV Awards
Best Movie or Miniseries
Nominated

Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
Jessica Lange
Nominated

64th Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Won

Frances Conroy
Nominated

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
Connie Britton
Nominated

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Denis O'Hare
Nominated

Outstanding Miniseries or Movie*
American Horror Story
Nominated

64th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards
Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie
Mark Worthington, Edward L. Rubin, Ellen Brill (for "Open House")
Nominated

Beth Rubino, Charles M. Lagola, Ellen Brill (for "Pilot")
Nominated

Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special
Robert J. Ulrich, Eric Dawson
Nominated

Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special
Chrisi Karvonides, Conan Castro (for "Halloween (Part 1)")
Nominated

Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or Movie
Fabienne Bouville (for "Birth")
Nominated

Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or Movie
Monte C. Haught, Samantha Wade, Melanie Verkins, Natalie Driscoll, Michelle Ceglia
Won

Outstanding Main Title Design
Kyle Cooper, Juan Ruiz Anchia, Gabriel Diaz, Ryan Murphy
Nominated

Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or Movie (Non-Prosthetic)
Eryn Krueger Mekash, Kim Ayers, Silvina Knight, D. Garen Tolkin
Nominated

Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie, or Special
Eryn Krueger Mekash, Hiroshi Yada, Michael Mekash, Christopher Nelson, Kim Ayers, Christien Tinsley, Jason Hamer
Nominated

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special
Gary Megregian, David Klotz, Steve M. Stuhr, Jason Krane, Jason Lezama, Timothy Cleveland, Bruce Tanis, Simon Coke, Zane Bruce, Jeff Gunn, Lance Wiseman (for "Piggy Piggy")
Nominated

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or Movie
Sean Rush, Joe Earle, Doug Andham (for "Piggy Piggy")
Nominated

Outstanding Stunt Coordination
Tim Davison
Nominated

69th Golden Globe Awards
Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Film
Jessica Lange
Won

Best TV Series – Drama
American Horror Story
Nominated

5th Kerrang! Awards
Best TV Show
Nominated

16th Online Film & Television Association Awards[52]
Best Drama Series
Nominated

Best Ensemble in a Drama Series
Nominated

Best Direction in a Drama Series
Won

Best Writing in a Drama Series
Nominated

Best Music in a Series
Won

Best Sound in a Series
Nominated

Best Editing in a Series
Won

Best Cinematography in a Series
Nominated

Best Production Design in a Series
Nominated

Best Costume Design in a Series
Nominated

Best Makeup/Hairstyling in a Series
Nominated

Best Visual Effects in a Series
Won

Best New Theme Song in a Series
Won

Best New Titles Sequence
Won

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Jessica Lange
Nominated

16th ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards
One-Hour Single Camera TV Series
Mark Worthington (for "Murder House")
Nominated

28th Artios Awards[53]
TV Movie or Miniseries
Robert J. Ulrich, Eric Dawson, Carol Kritzer, Eric Souliere (Associate)
Nominated

28th TCA Awards
Individual Achievement in Drama
Jessica Lange
Nominated

TV Guide Awards 2012[54][55]
Favorite Villain
Jessica Lange (as Constance Langdon)
Nominated

Favorite Horror Series
American Horror Story
Nominated

1st PAAFTJ TV Awards[56]
Best Miniseries or TV Movie
Nominated

Best Main Title Design
Nominated

Best Directing for a Miniseries or TV Movie
Ryan Murphy
Won

Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Jessica Lange
Won

Best Cast in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton, Taissa Farmiga, Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Denis O'Hare
Nominated

Best Production Design in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Mark Worthington
Won

Best Cinematography in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Mark Worthington
Nominated

5th NewNowNext Awards
Cause You're Hot
Jessica Lange
Nominated

2013
24th PGA Awards
Outstanding Producer of Long-Form TV
Brad Buecker, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Chip Vucelich, Alexis Martin Woodall
Nominated

text: * The FX network submitted the series to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in the miniseries, rather than the drama series, category for its 64th Primetime Emmy Awards.[57]

text: Ratings[edit]

text: The pilot episode gained a 1.6 ratings share among adults aged 18–49 and garnered 3.2 million viewers,[58] and totalled 5.2 million between two airings.[59] These were the best numbers FX had ever received for a series premiere.[60] Taken together with equally strong numbers for the station's returning original series – Sons of Anarchy, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League – the episode helped make October the most-watched month on FX ever.[61] The episode was seen by 3.2 million viewers total in 59 countries.[62]

text: Ratings increased as the season progressed, with the fourth episode receiving a 1.7 ratings share among adults 18–49, a tenth of a point higher than the pilot episode.[4] The seventh episode had a viewership of 3.06 million, receiving a 1.8 ratings share in the 18–49 demographic; a series high.[63][64] The season finale was watched by 3.22 million viewers and received a 1.7 ratings share in the 18–49 demographic.[12] The first season tied with the TNT series Falling Skies as the biggest new cable series of the year among adults 18–49.[65]

text: American Horror Story's November 2011 international premiere across Europe and Latin America, on Fox International Channels, drew rankings of 1st or 2nd among all Pay-TV in most metered markets for its time slot. In the UK, it premiered on non-terrestrial channel FX, with 128,200 viewers. The second episode saw an increase of 27%, receiving an overall viewership of 158,700.[66]

text:
Season
Ep. 1
Ep. 2
Ep. 3
Ep. 4
Ep. 5
Ep. 6
Ep. 7
Ep. 8
Ep. 9
Ep. 10
Ep. 11
Ep. 12
Ep. 13

Murder House
3.18
2.46
2.59
2.96
2.74
2.83
3.06
2.81
2.85
2.54
2.59
3.22
N/A

Asylum
3.85
3.06
2.47
2.65
2.78
1.89
2.27
2.36
2.22
2.21
2.51
2.30
2.29

Coven
5.54
4.51
3.78
3.71
3.80
4.16
4.00
4.07
3.94
3.49
3.46
3.35
4.24

Freak Show
6.13
4.53
4.44
4.51
4.22
3.65
3.91
3.30
3.07
2.99
3.11
2.94
3.27

Hotel
5.81
4.06
3.20
3.04
2.87
2.64
2.64
2.31
2.14
1.85
1.84
2.24
N/A

Roanoke
5.14
3.27
3.08
2.83
2.82
2.48
2.62
2.20
2.43
2.45
N/A

Cult
3.93
2.38
2.25
2.13
2.20
2.15
2.07
2.06
1.48
1.82
1.97
N/A

text: Home media release[edit]

text:
American Horror Story – The Complete First Season

Set Details
Special Features

12 Episodes
Audio Commentary of the Pilot episode by Ryan Murphy

Behind the Fright: The Making of American Horror Story
The Murder House presented by Eternal Darkness Tours of Hollywood
On the Set of American Horror Story
Overture to Horror: Creating the Title Sequence
Out of the Shadows: Meet the House Ghosts

Release Dates

Region 1
Region 2

September 25, 2012 (2012-09-25)[72]
October 15, 2012 (2012-10-15)[73]